NSFW – Penance Through Pain: A Look At Extreme Catholicism In The Philippines

Warning: This story contains some graphic content which may disturb some audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.

The word “faith” has increasing degrees of meaning towards different groups of people.  Many take the word lightly; attributing it towards the basic beliefs and rituals associated with a religion.  On the other side of the spectrum, a small portion of  people takes that word through a radical change where it manifests and evolves into an extreme form of devotion.

The Philippines is the largest roman catholic country in Asia.  The majority of the population believe deeply in the religion to the point where the constant unwavering traffic of Manila becomes dull and quiet every Sunday morning as a large number of the population is attending morning mass.  Catholicism plays an everyday role in many Filipino’s lives because factors such as poverty and social stature are important issues of the country.  Being an underdeveloped country, a majority of the population face the struggles of trying to survive day to day. These constant challenges have made faith and religion important facets in these people’s lives for the hopes of a better future.  Many are dealt bad hands and have nowhere else to look except towards divine intervention. Others,  because of these hardships, perform acts frowned upon in society to get ahead of their current situation.  If people decide to reconcile for their wrong doings, they search for some sort of penance through a priest led confession.   However, there are those who go to the most extreme degrees of penance to seek forgiveness.

During the holy week that leads up to Easter Sunday, a small portion of the Filipino population participates in these extreme forms of penance. The devout performs different forms of self-infliction of pain to achieve their vows of their sacrifice made with God.  The most common of these are self-flagellation and the reenactment of Christ’s crucifixion.  These performances have become so widespread and well known through the Philippines that there is a specific location that many people travel to witness it.

The host location for these live performances lies within the city of San Fernando, Pampanga. The entire city participates for Maleldo, the kampangan word for holy week, in one way or another.  The municipality oversees the entire week’s events and provides security during the staged performances.   Starting in the early 1950s as a play and staging of the Passion of Christ, these performances have transcended into much larger spectacles where penitents will participate alongside these performers.  Despite its origins as a reenactment, the penitents participation have increased the depth to its meaning.

The Penitents

Throughout out the holy week, especially on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, many penitents are seen throughout the town performing these acts of extreme penance.  While shirtless with masked faces adorned with floral crowns, the penitents inflict pain upon themselves through different forms throughout the entire day.  The most common of these is self-flagellation with a wooden tipped whip.  The participants will cut small incisions on their back and begin to whip their back from left to right for the entirety of a day to the point where the first layers of skin are eventually removed, and the blood-soaked whip spreads the excess droplets across the city.  The second most common form is the carrying of the cross.  Penitents will carry a cross through the entire city and make stops at different religious locations like churches and will be beaten by a stick of sorts.

Some of these penitents are ex-criminals who seek redemption for their past sins.  They feel that doing these extreme methods measures up to their own wrong doings.  Along with performing these rituals, many are tattooed with the likeness of Christ and other religious symbolisms.

The Crucifixions

The main event of Maleldo are the reenactments of the crucifixion.  There are three main locations within the city that these crucifixions take place.  They happen at different times but there is a main reenactment that gains most notoriety due to the main actors long history of performing it.  These reenactments are performed along with a Passion of Christ play. These plays are performed by local organizations or schools along with a penitent volunteer as Christ.  One of these volunteers is Wilfredo Salvador, a local fisherman who has since participated in nine crucifixions.

In his early years, Salvador was plagued with depression to the point where it affected his family as well as his own state of mind.  It tormented him for years until one day he decided to create a vow of sacrifice or penata with God.  According to Wilfredo, this sacred promise has helped create a better well being for him and his family; and he will continue to do these reenactments as long as he can physiclly do them, or as he says “God is willing”.  Salvador is only one of many who perform these rituals hoping to receive penance.

The crucifixions all begin with the Passion of Christ play.  The Passion of Christ play are all the events leading up to Jesus Christ’s crucifixion.  It is reenacted by local actors from schools or other organizations and uses the entire town as the venue.  It is usually accompanied by strong narration and music that helps emphasize the intense nature of the play.  At the climax, the penitents are then nailed to the cross and are raised up to be crucified. They are left raised for a few minutes then brought back down to receive medical attention afterwards.

Along with the scorching heat, these extreme acts of penance are intense and emotional experiences to witness first hand. Even though it may not be for the faint of heart or those whom fear being covered in blood, it is truly a once in a lifetime experience, and I feel lucky to have witnessed it first hand. In some people’s eyes, these reenactments and extreme methods of penance are seen as taboo. However, to those that perform it, it gives them a sense of redemption that has hopefully helped them to continue on with their lives.